Joseph Eubank was born
on January 2, 1762 in Caroline County Virginia.
In June 1780, Eubank joined the Virginia militia. In July his militia
unit received orders to march to Cox's mills NC to met up with General
Horatio Gates of the continental army. After arrival at Cox's mills, The
700 Virginia militia began its march to Camden SC.
The Continental march to Camden could probably be considered a death
march by today's standards. The Virginia army didn't bring enough food
for the men and the route that Gates took them on to Camden provided
very little food along the way. The night before the battle, Gates
issued boiled molasses to drink with their partially cooked meat. This
caused wide spread dysentery and food poisoning among the Continental
Army camp.
The next day on August 16, 1780, the Virginia militia arrived at the
battlefield still nauseous from the night before. Eubank and the 700
Virginia militia was placed on the left flank with 1800 men from the
North Carolina militia. On the opposite side were the British troops
considered to be best soldiers under Corvallis' command. Cornwallis
ordered a bayonet charge. the Bayonet charge was the most feared tactic
used by the British army.
Most of the NC and VA militia had never witnessed a bayonet charge.
When the charge came, The VA militia feared for their lives and ran away
from the battle without firing a shot.
The British would go on and defeat the Continental army but not
until after they would face 2 bayonet charges by the Continental army
led by Baron DE Kalb, who took over after General Gates fled the scene
with the VA and NC militia. Gates would ride almost seventy miles before
his horse gave out from exhaustion.
In the fall of 1780, Eubank was ordered to guard duty at Winchester Va.
These were British Prisoners that had been captured at the battle of
Saratoga. The British would stay at Winchester Prison until April 1783,
and then were marched to either Wilmington Delaware or Baltimore
Maryland where they were placed on British warships and sailed home.
In April 1781, Eubank joined the VA militia, and participated in
Skirmishes along the James river. In April 1781, British general William
Phillips took over command from Benedict Arnold., and began raiding
cities along the James River. At a small town 15 miles below Richmond,
Phillips sank 9 Virginia makeshift warships which consisted of a
merchant vessel with a cannon on it. Phillips would also destroy the
towns of Manchester and Portsmouth Va.
Eubank under the command of Lafayette participated in a brief skirmish
with Phillips. Lafayette's army outnumbered Philips , so Phillips fled
the scene as fast as possible. On May 13, 1781, Phillips developed a
fever and died. Had this not happened British raids would have probably
continued up and down the James river until Washington arrived at
Yorktown.
After the war, Eubank would move to Barren county Kentucky around 1795.
Eubank would live there until he died in October 1850.
During the Civil war, Barren county Ky became famous for two different
attacks by John Hunt Morgan in 1862 and 1863. Morgan was bale to destroy
the railway lines in Barren county and raided the city of Glascow for
supplies.